Culture
Egypt’s Coptic Christians outraged at government's mishandling of adoption case
The case of a little boy who was taken from his adoptive Christian parents by the Egyptian authorities and placed in an orphanage after being registered as a Muslim has triggered a backlash from rights advocates and brought the adoption laws under scrutiny.
Almost three decades into their childless marriage, Amal Ibrahim, 50, and Farouk Fawzi Boulos had resigned themselves to the fact that they would never be parents.
Then a miracle happened. Ibrahim — a Coptic Christian — found in 2018 an abandoned newborn in the washroom of the Saint Mary Coptic Orthodox Church, located in Cairo's predominantly Christian district of Shubra.
After consulting with senior clerics at the church, the couple decided to adopt the baby who was only a few days old at the time. They thought their prayers for a child had been answered.
The boy, who was named Shenouda by his adoptive parents, was baptized and had a cross tattooed on the inner wrist of his right hand to depict his faith.
